Reviews

Continuous Beat

New York Times
The jazz guitarist Rez Abbasi has had a recent run of strong and thoughtful albums, inspired by one or another form of cultural crosstalk. (Born in Pakistan and raised in Southern California, he has built his career in New York.) “Continuous Beat” is his sparsest effort yet, an absorbing trio excursion with the drummer Satoshi Takeishi and the bassist John Hébert, sensitive accompanists capable of dancing in and out of step. Mr. Abbasi’s compositions for the group are slippery but engaging, and he’s judicious with his impressively fluent technique: on Gary Peacock’s “Major Major,” he and his partners evoke Pat Metheny’s influential mid-70s trio with enough self-possession to avoid direct comparison. Later they bring sinuous poise to “The Cure,” by Keith Jarrett, and “Off Minor,” by Thelonious Monk. And Mr. Abbasi closes with a solo acoustic version of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” voicing the chords as if to suggest unanswered questions.

Something Else! Review (Top 10)
Always talented, Pakistani-born guitarist Rez Abbasi is a skilled musician who’s really come into his own recently as not merely an instrumental whiz, but as a complete artist. Witness, for instance, the Qawwali-inspired jazz music he’s been making with Rudresh Mahanthappa and Vijay Iyer in the Abbasi-led Indo-Pak supergroup Invocation…

Jazz Times“Continuous Beat furthers what is turning out to be one of jazz’s most intriguing journeys. Abbasi takes a bold step in resisting any stereotyping.”

Popmatters.com (Top 10)
” A trio record that really makes us appreciate Abbasi as a guitar player, as an interpreter, and as a writer of irresistible tunes.”

Jazz And Blues Reiview“This is a very sharp sounding and exciting recording. While the music is still quite accessible, it is very fresh and thoughtfully produced.”

AllAboutJazz.com“Playing with a curious combination of motivic development, purposeful virtuosity and unshackled imagination, Abbasi sets the bar high for the rest of Continuous Beat—a bar that, throughout this 53-minute set, Abbasi and his trio consistently meets…and raises, time and again.”

AllAboutJazz.com
“Where other guitar trio albums are solely built on running through scales and complex time signatures for the sake of it, this trio frames its existence on substance from nearly all angles and perceptions. With lessons learned from a holistic view for aspiring jazz artists and students, it’s clear why Abbasi and company are among the best in the business.”

Dusted Review“An astonishing technician, he’s got an imaginative range and a multi-genre facility that distinguish him among contemporary players.”

“In his hands, the globe’s music feels relentlessly new and progressive.” LA Times

“Abbasi lit into a super-charged improvisation over the lurching accents of the rhythm section on “Divided Attention,” with serpentine filigree dancing against the cycling, broken motifs of Takeishi.” San Diego Reader